1919 Liverpool West Derby by-election
# 1919 Liverpool West Derby by-election

The 1919 Liverpool West Derby by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 February 1919 for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool West Derby, in the County Palatine of Lancashire.

## Vacancy

The seat had become vacant on the elevation to the peerage of the constituency's Unionist Member of Parliament (MP), F. E. Smith, as Baron Birkenhead. He had been raised to the peerage to take up the post of Lord Chancellor.

## Electoral history

Smith had held the seat since the 1918 general election, when he was endorsed by the Coalition Government. Before that he held its predecessor seat, Liverpool Walton since the 1906 general election.

1918 general election: Liverpool West Derby :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | F. E. Smith | 11,622 | 67.4 | N/A |
| | Labour | George Nelson | 5,618 | 32.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,004 | 34.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,240 | 55.1 | N/A |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |

## Candidates

* The Unionist Party selected as its candidate Rear-Admiral Sir William Reginald Hall. Hall was endorsed by the Coalition Government.
* George Nelson stood for the Labour Party. He had stood against Smith at the recent General Election.

## Results

Turnout was unsurprisingly low so soon after a General Election. Hall won the seat by a much reduced margin.

Liverpool West Derby by-election, 1919 :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | Unionist | William Reginald Hall | 6,062 | 56.5 | -10.9 |
| | Labour | George Nelson | 4,670 | 43.5 | +10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,392 | 13.0 | -21.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,732 | 34.3 | -20.8 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -10.9 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
